How To Write An Effective Video Brief

Do you know exactly what you want from your promo video, or other video content? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone: many clients come to me with just a vague brief of what they want. We then work hard with them to tease a more comprehensive video brief out of them so that everyone is agreed on what’s required.
From this we can then create a successful video that addresses the client’s key objectives, reflects their ethos, talks to their target audience and generally wows everyone along the way!

On the other hand, sometimes a new client walks through the door with a brilliantly detailed video brief. At this point there are high-fives around the room, as we all understand exactly what is needed to achieve the client’s goals and wow everyone in the process.

Where To Start With Your Video Brief

Of course, if you haven’t got much experience of commissioning video content, and if you’re not familiar with film production and all the jargon that goes with it, creating the perfect video brief is daunting. So here’s my guide for devising a concise video brief (no jargon needed) that will result in exactly what your business needs:

1. What Are Your Objectives For Your Video?

“We want a video to promote our business” is not enough. Instead you need a clear idea of the elements within your business that your target audience will engage with, and a purpose to your content. What do you want viewers to do having watched your video? Are you looking to inspire, educate or entertain them? What differentiates your business or product from your competitors, and how can this be used to engage your audience?

2. Why Will Your Target Audience Want To Watch Your Video?

Your viewers have an easy decision to make: to press play or to navigate away. Therefore it is essential to understand what will motivate them to watch your content. Is it because you have an answer to a problem they have? Do they want to be entertained? Or perhaps your target audience are looking for something new and exciting?

3. Where Will You Use The Video?

The platform that your video is distributed on will reflect the core objectives you have for the content. For example, if your aim is for it to go viral the video will need to have key creative elements that will engage people on social media. Alternatively if you plan to host it on the front page of your website, your viewers are likely to be less distracted by other content and may have more time to watch detailed or longer clips.

4. What Do Your Viewers Want From You?

If your viewers feel that you’ve wasted their time it can be very hard to regain trust and get back in their good books. So your video content must add value and ensure that viewers feel that they have gained something from watching it. What that ‘something’ is will depend on your audience and your objectives.

5. How Does Your Audience Like To Be Spoken To?

The tone, style and content of your video must be aligned with your target audience. As with all the points above having a clear understanding of your viewers is essential if you want to attract, engage and retain them. Your video brief should include a customer avatar, or buyer persona, with plenty of detail about how they like to be communicated with. If it’s difficult to articulate this, use examples of other video and marketing content you know works well with your audience.

Of course, you may already have a few ideas of how your video can engage, create and inspire. But if you want a video production agency to come to you with their ideas, the above 5 points will give them an excellent starting point.

Next steps…

For those of you who want to get creative and start planning and visualising your content, the next step would be to create a storyboard. If you would like a storyboard template to do this with, email us at info@nrg-digital.co.uk and we’ll send you a copy of ours.